Cardi B and her WAP are doing just fine, thank you very much. Cardi is on a promotional tour – of sorts – to promote her new album, and I’ve been enjoying her interviews, honestly. I usually enjoy her interviews, because I think Cardi is really funny and she actually is something of a wordsmith. Sure, she’s problematic and I fully admit that (she does too), but I also think she’s out here, making mistakes and growing and trying to own up to all of her sh-t. Anyway, Cardi’s promotional tour basically consists of a lot of Zoom interviews thus far. She chatted with I-D Magazine just after the video for “WAP” dropped. Some highlights:
On the pandemic: “Everything has completely changed because of the pandemic. You know, I was constantly on the road, now I’m mostly at home with my baby. Everything that I had planned for this year has to be rescheduled for God knows when. So it’s just crazy, it’s a lot.”
She created her OnlyFans account during the pandemic too: “I created an OnlyFans because people are stuck at home more, but also just because I wanted to be on an app where I can talk only and specifically to my fans. There are certain times — a lot of times, actually — when I just want to talk to my fans, you know, my people. I don’t wanna go live on Instagram or say my opinions on social media because people twist it and spin it. There are certain things I want only my fans to see, you know? I wanna be more open about my insecurities, what makes me happy and what makes me sad. I wanna be extremely transparent. And I’m not even talking about my body, you know, just my life. I feel like not everybody deserves to see it.”
She’s not using OnlyFans the way other (adult film) stars are using it: “I feel like people are using it in a different way now, like the way I’m using it. But whatever way people are using OnlyFans, I don’t have a problem with it, you know what I’m saying? Like, if you’re making money and you’re supporting your family by any means… I do not care. Like, that’s your prerogative, I don’t judge you. I do not care.”
On three-year-old Kulture: “You know, when your baby is really tiny, you don’t really have to watch what you say. Now I gotta be so careful with what I do and anything I say so she won’t be out here repeating it. She gets little tantrums and I have to decide how to deal with those. Like, do I wanna be a chill mom, or an aggressive mom?”
Shooting “WAP” during the pandemic: “It was kind of weird shooting the video in the age of corona.Like, we had to spend $100,000 dollars just on testing. Everybody on the shoot had to get tested for coronavirus. We had a tiger and a leopard there, but we didn’t film with them in there because of safety and because of the pandemic. We spliced those scenes together.”
On the conservative white dudes who hate her WAP: “I’ve been really surprised by the reaction, honestly. I knew it was gonna have a big impact, I guess, because of me and Megan. But I didn’t know it was going to be so controversial. I never expected that, you know, conservatives and Republicans were going to be talking about the song. I didn’t think the song was as vulgar as they said it was, you know? Like, I’m so used to it. I’m such a freak that I didn’t think it would be a big deal. I didn’t think people would think it was so out of this world…It doesn’t make me angry. It makes me happy. They keep talking and the numbers keep going up. At the end of the day, whatever they’re saying, the numbers speak for themselves.”
I’ve been a little bit surprised by the conservative men and their reaction to “WAP” as well, and can I just say? I’ve been shocked by all of the men in the music industry who have had such negative reactions too. The message of “WAP” is really simple: female pleasure, women enjoy sex too, women get horny too, and women can talk about sex and brag about sex, just like men. We can be enthusiastic participants in sex. That’s it. It’s that f–king simple and basic. But men of all races and political ideologies have been showing they all have a problem with that. (Also, if some tennis players start OnlyFans accounts, maybe I would pay for the app.)
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, IG.
Kulture is such a cutie omg
I don’t like her rap style (I’ve tried!) but she can say whatever she wants to and do whatever she wants with her body. Period. The pearl snatching and hand wringing is just tiresome.
+1. I understand that not everybody likes raunchy stuff. The problem is the ones who take it from, “I don’t enjoy this”, to “This should not exist and no woman gets to call it empowering”, and build sexist and racist talking points around that.
Amen. I saw some comments on here policing the video, and I’m like…let her and Megan do what they want. Some people need to twerk in their underwear, even if it’s just in the mirror to loosen up and stop taking this so seriously.
Ben Shapiro and his ilk could have learned something.
I played the heavily redacted version of WAP in my spin class this week and my students went nuts!!! Lol! It’s a hit!!! Keeping doing you, Cardi!!! I love how strong and fierce she is ❤️❤️❤️
Most of the conservatives who are freaking out over it would never have even heard the song if Ben Shapiro hadn’t decided to weigh in on it and Shapiro only reinforced his misogynist credibility while letting the world know he’s really bad at sex.
I mean, WAP is also intentionally humorously vulgar. It’s meant to be a little shocking, so if you’re getting wound up about it, you’re just proving her point lol. But that’s conservatives for you. Anything to prove the world is a constant attack on them and their “values” rather than just a place where you have to learn to share space with people you may not agree with and tolerate it by editing your own experience. Like, if you don’t like the song, turn it off lol.
Cardi is probably the only celebrity I’m cool with being on OnlyFans since she’s a former sex worker and has respect for others that use it. People like Bella Thorne scamming users and forcing the site to make changes that affect the people who actually use it for a living can GTFO.
“Cardi is probably the only celebrity I’m cool with being on OnlyFans since she’s a former sex worker”
Does she identify as a sex worker tho? Not all strippers do. In fact, a lot of us don’t consider it sex work unless you got actual tricks on the side or you hustle a bit in between sets. For a lot of us is more like an art mixed with a sport. It can be very beautiful and you need very strong legs lol
Former stripper here, btw, that’s why I ask.
What she said about Kulture. 3 years old are so difficult, I had no Idea.
There have been posts on my neighborhood Nextdoor page where people are honestly going so far as to ask other people to not listen to the song in their own cars when they’re driving through the neighborhood because they don’t want their kids to accidentally be exposed to something “so sexual and vulgar.” They’re trying to police the music OTHER PEOPLE listen to in their own vehicles because they’re worried “the children” might hear a lyric or two in the time it takes someone to drive by. *eyeroll*
America has it so ass backwards. People have no problem having their kids see the most violent crap when actual child studies show how damaging that is, but god forbid you mention sex or see a naked body. Kids in other countries grow up with topless beaches and boobs on tv and somehow don’t turn into sex maniacs. This puritan culture shit is old, and young kids don’t even get that things are “dirty” unless you tell them. My son called me from his dads one time “mommy, what is pronography? (that’s how he pronounced it,lol) Dad wont tell me”. I just said, “oh, it’s writing about sex”. And hes said, “That’s all?!” and I said, “yup”. That was it, and he had no further questions.
Men hate WAP cause heaven forbid women enjoy sex too.
Love the song and love the message. Video is great too. Keep doing your thing Cardi.
This is the first time I ever read about someone having an issue with the song.
I’m more on the prudish side so I disliked the song and have my own opinions on mainstream feminism and sex and all of that stuff.
But tbh, the backlash made me roll my eyes a little. It’s a dumb song, imo, but it’s nothing new and it only blew up because that whiny guy decided he wanted to sit there and deconstruct the whole song. Why is it shocking? It’s Cardi? It’s popular because of Cardi’s meme able energy, the silly (and hilarious) video, as well as what Megan went through recently. People just wanna see it. Most people I know actually dislike the song, the song is more of a fun meme and people liked it even more when the Republicans started freaking out.
It’s a little raunchy for my taste, but I think Megan killed it on that song! I like Cardi, but she’s sub-par at rapping. I like that Cardi is very transparent about her motives in the biz though. She is not trying to be the greatest female rapper of all time, she is putting out what sells and making bank.
I agree that Cardi is not that good of a rapper, but I’m enthusiastic about her existence and love the way she stirs things up. My son is a big, big rap fan. When the song first came out, I played it over my home speakers, within 5 seconds, he RAN out of his room yelling, “MOM! YOU CAN’T PLAY THAT SONG!!!!!”. Recently, he had a bunch of boys over playing video games, etc. and one of them asked Siri to play WAP. The kid knew every lyric and was singing along. There’s nothing more hilarious than hearing a 12 year old white boy sing WAP. They were horrified when they found out I was watching them the whole time.
I’m worried about all these celebs flocking to OnlyFans. It was a place for sex workers to earn more than shortbread, you know? And now celebs are bringing attention to it in a way that idk if it’s gonna benefit sex workers.
I really like her, btw. Not a fan of her music, but I do think ppl come too hard and too strong for her. She’s learning. Let her learn.
However, I can’t get behind that time she got a woman beat up cause her dear hubby couldn’t keep it in his pants. I hope she learned from that. And I hope she leaves his sorry ass one of these days lol
There are so many interactive streaming apps where you have to pay a membership for content that she could have used other than OnlyFans. Why not Twitch? Why the only app that some of the people most at risk use to make a living? Yes, she’s a former stripper. Emphasis on the “former”. She now makes millions. Leave the crumbs for the people who really need them. How would she have felt if Halle Berry had come at her former workplace and started stripping and drew all her customers away?
SHE DRUGGED AND ROBBED MEN FOR CASH. BUT OF COURSE YOU DONT CARE ABOUT THAT. SHES TRASH ! And a token for Biden. Haha
SHE DRUGGED AND ROBBED MEN FOR CASH. BUT OF COURSE YOU DONT CARE ABOUT THAT. SHES TRASH ! And a token for Biden. Haha
Lol am I the only one who thinks the ‘clean’ version “wet & gushy” actually sounds dirtier?!
Not really into her music (I’m not really into rap) but I like her
Haha! Yes wet & gushy sounds more….um, explicit. Just say it! Wet and Juicy LOL 😂